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GENESIS — 15:6 merit

GEN839 Great is tzedakah [righteousness or charity] by which the Holy One Blessed be He, is praised when He will bring salvation to the Jews, as it is written Isaiah 63:1: “I speak with tzedakah, might to save.” Great is tzedakah, which confers honor and life upon its practitioners, as it is written Proverbs 21:21: “He who pursues tzedakah and lovingkindness will find life, tzedakah, and honor.” Great is tzedakah, through which the Holy One Blessed be He, is destined to redeem Israel, as it is written Isaiah 1:27  “Zion will be redeemed through justice, and those who return to it, through righteousness” Shabbat 139a. Great is tzedakah, through which our father Abraham was praised s it is written [this verse] and Genesis 18:19: “For I have known him that he might command his children and his household after him to heed the way of Hashem, to do tzedakah and justice.”  TZADIK 313-5.   

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GENESIS — 15:6 trust

GEN841 Trust is impossible without belief, as is written Psalms 9:11: “And those who know Your name will trust in You.”  For those who know His great name and recognize His greatness and strength and believe in Him wholeheartedly – they can trust in Him, for trust and belief go together.  If there is no belief, there is no trust; and if there is no trust, there is no belief.   And belief is the apex of Torah, as it is written Exodus 20:2-3: “I am Hashem your God…you shall not have any other gods.”  TZADIK 205

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GENESIS — 18:17 hide

GEN957 If the Blessed One graces a man with wealth and children and He give him wisdom in abundance, understanding and honor, he should be even more humble and lowly before the Blessed Creator and honor men and pursue their good to an even greater extent than before.  Witness the case of Avraham.  When the Holy One Blessed be He said to him [this verse], he humbled himself and responded [ibid. 27] “But I am dust and ashes.”   TZADIK 67 (Continued at [[DEUT344]] Deuteronomy 7:10 enemies 67-9)

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GENESIS — 18:19 instruct

GEN976 The love of one’s children should be such as to cause him to give thought to leading his children in the ways of justice, to teach them Divine service, and to command the continuance of Divine service after him, as it is written Isaiah 38:19 “A father will educate his sons to Your truth,” and Deuteronomy 4:9 “And you shall make them known to your children and to your children’s children,” and as stated in respect to Avraham [this verse]. TZADIK 107

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GENESIS — 20:17 prayed

GEN1104 There are different types of hatred. One may hate his neighbor for causing him a monetary loss, striking him, shaming him, or giving him a bad name and the like. For all these and the like one must not hate his friend in silence, as stated in respect to the wicked (I Shemuel 13:22): "And Avshalom did not speak with Amnon either good or evil, for Avshlom hated Amnon," but it is a mitzvah to inform him and to say to him: "Why did you do this and this to me? as it is written [this verse]: "You shall surely reprove your friend." And if ... If [your friend] asks for forgiveness, he must be forgiven; and the one who forgives must not be hard-hearted, as it is written [this verse].   “And Avraham prayed to God” [on behalf of Avimelech]. Baba Kama 92a.  And even if the offender does not ask to be forgiven, he should not be hated but handled with love, so that in the end the injury will be righted.   TZADIK 133-5

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GENESIS — 22:3 early

GEN1133 Zeal is a great virtue that promotes Torah and mitzvos and also worldly progress.   It is a trait of the righteous.   By acting with zeal the righteous arrive at Divine serve.  Our Sages of blessed memory have said Pesachim 4a: “The zealous advance themselves towards the doing of mitzvos.” This can be seen in the case of our father Avraham in the incident of the binding of Yitzchak, as it is written [this verse].   Even though it was understandably difficult for him to slaughter his only son, he did the will of the Exalted Creator with zeal, rising early in the morning.   … When a man frees his heart of all other thoughts that reside in it and seizes upon one thought, then he will undoubtedly be zealous in its execution.   This is what Avraham did. He removed from his heart the love of his son and held on to the will of his Creator, and he negated the love of his son before the love of the will of his Blessed Creator.  … It is for this reason that the Holy One Blessed be He swore to Avraham to remember for his seed the binding of Yitzchak.   TZADIK 283

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